Temptation
by Black Stormraven
Summary: AU role reversal: Asajj Ventress, hero of the Jedi Order, crosses blades with Sith Lord Obi-Wan Kenobi. The result of their fight is entirely unexpected...but not entirely unwelcome. M for sexual content. You've been warned!
1. Chapter 1

**So this idea has been in my head for weeks and I finally got up the nerve to post it. It was intended to just be a PWP for my own satisfaction, but then it turned into an actual story somewhere along the way. So...yeah. Here ya go!**

* * *

Red plasma disappeared with a _snap_ as the lightsaber was flung across the hangar. Other than the few overhead lights that survived the savage duel, only a bright green glow was left to illuminate the darkness. "It's over, my darling," a voice said gently. The owner of the green blade, though physically exhausted from the battle, kept her voice and posture calm and relaxed. "Surrender now and I will see that you are well-treated by the Council during your trial."

Her disarmed opponent snorted. "You think I would admit defeat so easily?" His eyes burned with a fire that came only from the deepest hatred. But it was not directed at her. "Jedi bitch!" His kick was unexpected, aimed for her ribs with the intention of breaking them. She crossed her arms to block his foot from making contact, but the force behind it still sent her skidding across the floor. She had only a second to find her bearings before the wing of a starfighter came crashing down atop her. She cushioned the blow with the Force and set the metal and sparking circuitry safely aside.

She had no time, however, to fend off the blood-red blade that sought to cleave her in half. The most she could do was roll away and hope that a Force-push towards her opponent would be enough to give her an opening to regain her footing and reactivate her lightsaber.

It was.

"Why do you keep fighting me?" she asked as he scrambled back to his feet. A wave of her hand yanked his weapon from him and into her waiting palm. He lunged for it, but the red and green blades now crossed at his neck stopped him midstep. He glared at her, yellow, red-rimmed eyes burning. She stared back, pale silver eyes brimming with compassion. "Please, my darling. Stand down. I don't want to hurt you."

His responding laugh sent a shudder down her spine. "Oh, but _I_ want to hurt _you_," he sneered. "The only feeling greater than the power of the Dark Side will be my fingers wrapped around your lovely neck."

Asajj Ventress, celebrated Jedi Knight and hero of the Clone Wars, felt no fear at the threat. She knew him far too well to believe he really wanted that. "You continue to lie to yourself to mask your pain, Obi-Wan. You don't have to do that anymore. Not with me."

"Don't you dare preach at me, Jedi! I could crush your heart right now if I chose…and I would enjoy it immensely."

"So why don't you?"

He paused. What was she playing at? "Because I want the pleasure of feeling your bones break with my own hands."

Now it was her turn to pause. She searched his handsome face for a long moment before deactivating both blades and throwing them aside. Confusion colored his face, then shock when she grasped his hands and placed them around her neck. "Then do it."

Obi-Wan, Darth Apophis**,** froze. He stared at her neck, so slender, so fragile. He wasn't lying when he said he could crush it without a second thought. His thumbs stroked down the center of her throat with just enough pressure to feel the ridges of her windpipe beneath the concealing fabric. Her pulse pounded slow and hard under his palms, a steady beat that seemed more a melody to him than a mere biological function. "What kind of trick is this?" he muttered, unconscious of the words leaving his lips.

"No trick," she whispered. "If you truly believe yourself to be beyond redemption, then kill me. But I know you better than you think, darling. You won't hurt me."

The words sparked something in his breast. He didn't need her pity! She knew _nothing _about him! His hands tightened around her throat to the point of pain, but she remained stoic. There was no fear in her, not of him, not of death. He realized then that she'd never been afraid of him. That only infuriated him more.

Obi-Wan slammed her back against a duracrete wall, the impact knocking the breath from her lungs, his hands squeezing even harder. He brought his face close to hers until he could smell her skin, an intoxicating blend of sweat, soap, and a fragrance that was wholly _her._ "Do you still think I'm one of the good guys, Jedi? Still think I won't kill you right here?"

Asajj touched his wrist. "I…trust you…" she breathed.

His grip faltered. His legs weakened. "What did you say?"

"I trust you…with my life."

And then she smiled.

That smile, that foolish trust lodged in a crack in his shields, a crack she herself had put there so many years before. The crack fissured and spread until her warmth and her hope broke through. The resulting pain was nearly unbearable.

Obi-Wan fell to his knees in agony. His arms locked around her thighs as if she were his only lifeline. He was a Sith apprentice, baptized in the blood of Jedi like her and all others who had stood against him. His only defense against such raw compassion and trust was hate, but despite how much he wanted to believe otherwise, he had no hate for _her._ As much as he claimed to want to, he couldn't hurt her, not the only person to ever truly care for him aside from Qui-Gon. He screamed out his frustration and his self-loathing until his throat went dry.

Asajj remained rooted to the spot through it all. Her heart went out to the shaking, screaming man at her feet. She knew he didn't want to live like this anymore. He only turned to the Dark Side out of the pain of losing his beloved Master. He had tried to bury that pain with anger and rage, but those emotions could only take him so far. He wanted his life back.

Her hands smoothed over his hair as he pressed his cheek against her bared abdomen. She gave him time to release his frustration and conflicting emotions before calling his name. Her fingers delicately curled under his bearded chin when he did not respond. When his eyes finally met hers, gone was the sickly yellow pallor. Gone was the seething hatred. All that remained was the purest blue reflecting a desperate need for someone to understand him, for someone to see him as more than a monster.

Her gentle smile was too much for him to bear. The Sith Lord surged to his feet and captured her lips in a kiss that was almost shy, but so full of passion and desire that Asajj gasped at its intensity. He grew emboldened when she didn't push him away. His hands molded to her as he gathered her in his arms, something he'd wanted to do for years but never could. The way their bodies melded was perfect harmony to him.

Obi-Wan struggled for words when they separated for breath. She beat him to it. "That was…unexpected," she chuckled. His eyes closed in pleasure at the scent of her breath as it wafted against his face. "But certainly better than I'd imagined."

He smiled in return; not a sneer, not a dark grin, but a genuine smile. "So you've been fantasizing about my kiss, my darling Asajj? I'm flattered." His voice was no longer broken. Now it was teasing, playful, seductive. He lowered his lips to her ear to brush against the sensitive shell. "What other fantasies have you locked away in that beautiful head of yours?" The shiver that went though her body was positively exhilarating. "I'm sure I could make all of them pale in comparison to reality."

Asajj then did something she hadn't done since her teenage years when she had given fellow Padawan Quinlan Vos her innocence: she blushed. "Obi-Wan…"

"Have you dreamed of screaming my name to the stars as I bring you to the zenith of desire?" She didn't push him away, didn't tell him to stop. That was all the encouragement he needed.

His hands skimmed over every inch of bare flesh he could reach: her waist, her arms, her back. He growled lightly at the sight of the Jedi markings that wrapped around her bald head, biceps, and ribs, but the feel of her skin overpowered any hatred he had for the tattoos. She shivered again when the tips of his fingers slipped beneath her fitted top on her back to trace her spine. She gasped when his mouth closed over her pulse point, his teeth sinking softly into the fabric and the skin beneath. "So responsive, my sweet. And here I thought the Jedi were above such worldly pleasures."

Asajj gripped his forearms in an attempt to control her rampant heartbeat. With the frigid wall at her back and his searing body to her front, she could do little to escape…not that she wanted to. Unknown to him, she had longed for his touch as much as he had for hers. She wasn't exactly sure when animosity had turned to lust somewhere along their complicated relationship, but now it didn't matter. What did was that they were here, right now, with no one around but the one flickering light in the far corner and a handful of destroyed starfighters and swoops.

"We're not…above such things, Obi-Wan," she said when she finally found her voice. "We just know how not to let them become obsessions."

His eyes sparked with mischief at those words. She swallowed. "That almost sounds like a challenge, Asajj." The way he stressed her name made her stomach clench in a most pleasant way. "Is it?" he added with a light tug on her earlobe.

"Would you like it to be?" she shot back.

That gave him pause. Perhaps he had underestimated his little Jedi. One hand slid down from her neck over her chest (he didn't miss the sharp breath when he brushed over her breast), all the way down to her thighs. She had them pressed tightly together as if that would be enough to stave off her obvious arousal. His gloved hand wedged between them without warning, drawing a shaky gasp from her lips when he pressed his fingers against her. He gave a wicked grin at her reaction. "So _very _responsive."

Asajj almost succeeded in making her voice steady. "I know you're fond of words, my darling, but I'm beginning to wonder if you're simply all talk."

That took the smile from his face. Quick as lightning, Obi-Wan lifted her from the floor, keeping her balanced on his thigh as he guided her legs around his hips. The sudden closeness had both of them breathless for a moment. He took that moment to admire the firm muscle of her thighs hidden by tight-fitting leggings beneath her split skirts. "Where did you learn to play like this, Asajj?"

She gave a gasping chuckle as she replied, "Still talking, I see." Her eyes snapped shut and her fingers tightened in his hair when his hips drove painfully into hers, letting her feel every inch of him. She liked it. "How ever are we to move on to the fun stuff if all you do is talk?"

Obi-Wan laughed thickly against her neck. "Do you have any idea what my definition of 'fun' is?" His hands made another pass up her body, this time gliding under her top and raising it to expose her breasts. A flash of anger went through him when he saw the Jedi tattoos extended there as well, but it was quickly stamped out by a surge of lust. "Perhaps you would like to find out." Her back arched away from the wall and a most becoming moan fell from her lips when his palms lighted on her sensitive nipples and coaxed them into hardened peaks. He licked his lips as his hands slipped downward to push her skirts and leggings down from her wide hips.

"Show," she gasped, her eyes half-hooded in pleasure, "don't tell."

That was all the impetus he needed. He tore her from the wall and threw her onto the floor (one hand on the back of her head so as not to cause any permanent damage). Her legs tightened around him and her hands gripped his arms as if they were lifelines. "There's a side to you I've not had the pleasure of seeing before, my dear Asajj." He raised himself up from her for the briefest of moments to completely bare her lower body to the chilly air and his lascivious gaze. Her hands immediately returned to his hair while his hooked around her knees and drew her closer, earning him a low moan of approval. "I think corrupting you will be easier than I originally thought."

Asajj arched into his touch when his mouth lighted on her neck again; the fabric barrier did nothing to stop the heat radiating from his lips. He moved on to her breasts when he gained no satisfaction from nipping at the cloth. She managed a few words between strangled gasps for air. "You can try, my darling." Her voice was steadier when he met her eyes and held them. "I welcome you to test me." Her hands slid from his head over his armored shoulders to his solid chest, not stopping until they reached the catch of his belt. "I can be a most eager student when I choose," she breathed into his ear.

Obi-Wan loosed a guttural growl, grabbing her hands none too gently and pinning them above her head. She winced. There would surely be bruises from his crushing grip…not that either of them cared much at the moment. His free hand made quick work of the catch, freeing himself from the confines of the dark fabric, before returning to one of her knees to draw it higher on his hip. Despite how his body cried out for him to finish the job, something stopped him before he could move further. "This is your only chance to tell me to stop, Asajj," he said sincerely, all playfulness gone. "Tell me right now and I'll let you go. But the next time we meet I won't be so noble; I will kill you without hesitation."

Asajj's eyes were wide as she stared at him. Obi-Wan thought he might drown in their depths if she didn't blink soon. A moment later, she gave her response: "Why would I ever tell you to stop?"

And he was done for. That one question, disguising her precious consent, made the fire that burned beneath his skin flare into an inferno. He crushed his lips to hers as if he sought to possess her entirely (perhaps he did) as a sharp thrust of his hips had him buried deep within her inviting body. She cried out against his mouth at the sudden intrusion, her body tensing, but she didn't fight him.

Obi-Wan had to take a moment to gather his wits. So long he had lusted after her in one form or another. So long had he craved to know what her flesh would feel like, gripping and enveloping him so completely. He had teased her earlier about making her fantasies pale in the face of reality; now he realized that was a two-way street. Never in his wildest imaginings did he think that such pleasure could be derived from so simple a joining.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when her lips closed gently over his lower lip. That touch, which would have been affectionate if not for the animosity that still simmered between them. This was nothing more than a satiation of the flesh. There was no love between a Jedi Master and a Sith Lord. But for now all that mattered was the physical ache that recognized no allegiances that demanded to be relieved.

Obi-Wan was not gentle, but Asajj didn't complain. Her legs tightened around his waist with each thrust. Her fingers clenched on empty air as his sinful mouth nipped and sucked at whatever flesh is could find. Her cries of pleasure mingled with brief gasps of pain as his teeth nearly broke her skin and the gloved fingers of his free hand gripped her waist and hips with vise-like strength; he took immense pleasure in envisioning finger-shaped bruises blotting out the Jedi tattoos.

Asajj was nearing her limit. Her body tensed around him and all sense of rhythm was lost. The Sith wasn't about to let her off that easily.

It took every ounce of self-control to slow his pace, the hand that had been so intent on covering her tattoos with marks of his own going to the ceramic-plated floor to channel his lust. He ignored the spindly cracks that formed beneath his fist as did Asajj. She was too focused on watching him disappear and reappear between her thighs to give much thought to anything else. Watching him surge forward and retreat seemed to intensify the sensation, her head falling back as a guttural moan escaped her dark lips. That sound alone nearly drove him mad.

"Perhaps I should stop and give you a reprieve to catch your breath, my sweet," he growled into her ear before nipping at the lobe.

She jumped violently. "Don't you dare!" she gasped desperately. "Don't…you dare stop."

Those words only stoked the fire raging in his body. "As my lady wishes." Crushing his lips to hers once again, he groaned out his pleasure as her hips met his with each thrust. He thought he heard her murmur something about wanting to touch him, but whatever words she tried to speak were either swallowed by his greedy mouth or indistinguishable from unintelligible whimpers and lustful cries. Not that he would have acquiesced; her touch on his bare skin would surely enslave him to her. He wouldn't risk that, which was why he endured the discomfort of his sweat-slicked flesh confined beneath his armor and robes. He would endure anything to have her and retain his self-control at the same time.

The scream that ripped from her throat as her body tightened around him and her back arched painfully high off the floor undid him. The flames that had consumed him during their coupling flared brighter than an exploding star and poured from him into her. Time seemed to stretch into infinity. An eternity had passed before they collapsed into a boneless, trembling heap. The silence that followed was more profound than either had ever experienced, broken only by their ragged, strangled gasps.

Obi-Wan was the first to recover. He had to consciously command his fingers to release her wrists, a feat that was easier said than done for him at that point. Only when he raised himself onto his forearms did he take note of the small crater his fist had made in the floor beside her head. What witchcraft did she possess to make him lose such control? _Such power you have over me, Jedi._ He brushed his knuckles over her cheek as she tried to regain her breath, her arms unmoved from above her head and her eyes still closed. The gesture was almost loving but for the mockery in his words. "Have I effectively corrupted you yet, my sweet?" Or was it more teasing than mocking?

Asajj turned into his hand, seeking his touch as moth sought a flame. "In body, yes," she laughed softly. "In spirit," –her eyes fluttered open to meet his, the clouded desire still smoldering in their pale depths making his breath catch- "never."

"Never is a very long time," he breathed into her ear. She whimpered when he nipped at it.

Obi-Wan allowed himself a few more moments to bask in her soft heat before severing their intimate connection. Her chirp of disappointment nearly made him return to her, but time was short. Both of their compatriots would surely come looking for them soon, and it would not do for a Lord of the Sith to be seen in such a position with his most hated enemy. He stood, ignoring the slight shake of his legs, and hurriedly fixed his clothing back into place. He stared down at the Jedi as she watched him. Their eyes remained locked as she pulled her blouse back over her breasts. He silently lamented the loss of such a tantalizing sight. "So eager to leave me, my darling?" she quipped, retrieving the remainder of her clothes and pulling them on. "And here I thought you were beginning to like me."

"Nothing has changed between us, Jedi," he said, admiring the grace in her movements as she came to her feet. He didn't miss the way her legs trembled as she took a step towards him.

"Oh, I think it has. I sense a change in you, Obi-Wan. Perhaps it is I who has corrupted you."

She reached up to lay a hand on his cheek, but he snatched it before it could touch him. "Don't insult me, Jedi," he sneered. "I will kill you when next we meet. Count on that." He nipped harshly at the bruise forming on her wrist to drive his point home.

"Promises, promises," she purred, light mocking in her voice.

A single thought brought his lightsaber to his hand. He held the hilt under her chin for further emphasis. "That it is, my sweet." With one last look at her kiss-swollen lips he turned on his heel and made for the door. Asajj was about to turn as well, her lightsaber returned to her hand with help from the Force, when he called out to her. She couldn't stop the blush that colored her cheeks nor the tiny smile that bloomed on her face at his parting words. "I look forward to seeing my handiwork grace your flesh when the bruises form."

* * *

**By the way, Obi-Wan's Sith name is that of the Egyptian god of chaos and darkness. But he's actually necessary to the continuation of life because he's the embodiment of constructive chaos, in other words, things must be destroyed in order to for new growth to form. I thought it appropriate here :3**


	2. Chapter 2

She should have been ashamed of herself, should have been overridden by guilt until her conscience could no longer stand it. But if she were honest with herself, and she usually was, she truly enjoyed being in his presence. Ever since their first intimate union in that hangar the tension between them had shifted from deadly to something more dangerous. She had often wondered if this was his plan all along, to use their mutual physical attraction to turn her from her path in the Light; what a victory for the Sith that would be.

But she always dismissed the notion the next time they met. He'd never pushed her to change allegiances, never threatened her or her Jedi family if she didn't join the Sith. That alone gave her hope that she could reach through to him and help him to see that the Dark Side did not hold as much sway over him as he believed.

Asajj mulled over these thoughts for what felt like the millionth time as her fingers toyed with his. Obi-Wan reclined lazily on the bed behind her, one arm thrown over her waist and his heat seeping into her. Those lethal hands that should have filled her with apprehension she found instead to be utterly fascinating. One moment they were leaving dark bruises everywhere on her body they could reach, the next they were incredibly tender and soothing. "You are a man of contradictions, my dear," she murmured against his fingers as she pressed them to her lips.

The mattress shifted beneath her before she felt herself drawn further back into his body. She sighed at the tightness with which he held her, the gentility with which he caressed her bald head with his lips. "The same could be said for you, Asajj," he whispered against her ear.

"With one very important difference, of course," she laughed, turning slightly in his embrace to touch his cheek with her fingertips. "I am most certainly a woman, in case you haven't noticed."

Obi-Wan's eyes closed briefly at her teasing before grasping her hand. "I assure you I have noticed-" she drew in a quick, sharp breath when his teeth bit into the pad of her middle finger "-and wholeheartedly approve of such a fine example of the female form."

"Flatterer," she said through a smile.

His bright blue gaze suddenly turned critical. "But for one flaw…"

Her smile dropped. "Oh?"

"These." His blunt nails dug into her side to punctuate that one word. He scratched roughly at the stripe of purple ink that followed the curve of her rib. "The only marks that should adorn your body are the ones that I put there. Through battle-" his hand moved down to her thigh to stroke the lightsaber burn he had given her weeks ago "-or passion." His tongue dragged over the discolored patch of skin on her neck that bore a near-perfect imprint of his teeth.

"So possessive," she sighed throatily, "even for a Sith." In truth, a part of her quite liked this side of him. Perhaps it was the first sign of her own insanity.

"Never forget that, my darling," he growled against her throat. "You are mine as much as I am yours."

"I think your Master might be inclined to argue that claim."

Heat flashed through him at the mention of his Master. "Sidious is a fool," he hissed. "He is too blinded by his own arrogance to see how much stronger I've become." Obi-Wan used her silence to observe his secret lover for a long moment. But for the Jedi tattoos, she was perfection given form. The clarity of her pale eyes, the languid relaxation of her lithe body even in his crushing embrace, the utter contentment without guilty or pity rippling through the Force. A feeling very close to awe descended on him the longer he watched her. "Reconsider, Asajj," he whispered gently, sincerely. "We can overthrow Sidious and make the galaxy ours. We can end this war together."

Her mouth turned down and a breath that sounded exasperated left her lungs. "Obi-Wan-"

He carefully turned her onto her back and loomed over her. The back of his hand brushed up the side of her face. "Rule at my side. Not an apprentice, but an equal. Be the queen you were always meant to be, my love. You will be magnificent." In truth, he had often imagined her at his side in resplendent Sith robes upon a throne on Coruscant. She would mete out justice and punishment as she saw fit, harsh but fair, and she would be loved and feared for it. The picture was perfect in his mind.

But Asajj didn't feel the same. Not yet, at least. Sadness washed over her as her hands framed his face and her legs wound themselves around his waist. "You know that's impossible. I am now and ever will be a Jedi." He forced down his anger at that word with impressive willpower. The touch of her fingers on his forehead didn't hurt either. "But hope is not lost. Come back to the Light, Obi-Wan. _You_ will be magnificent. You will shine within the Order."

His anger resurfaced for a moment, his fingers digging painfully into her flesh in an effort to control it. "In case you've forgotten, I am a Sith. I don't shine. I _burn._" The glare he fixed her with would have sent any weaker being into tears of fright. But not her. All it did to her was remind her exactly what lay beneath his sultry words and orgasmic caresses. "I will tear your Order to the ground if only to prove to you how weak it is. And once you see that truth, you _will_ rule at my side as my Empress."

* * *

Obi-Wan had grown tired of waiting. He had been patient, waiting for her to do the right thing for months, but enough was enough. He wanted her final decision _now. _A simple worldwide infection on Ithor would lure her to him. She would either join him and save the galaxy from itself, or he would kill her, her precious Jedi Order, and Ithor as well. He knew she would come. She wouldn't ignore such a threat to "peaceful" planet; her bleeding heart was a weakness he would exploit gladly if it meant drawing her to her rightful place.

He didn't have to wait long.

Her Force signature grew stronger the closer she got, but there was something else. He couldn't quite put his finger on it…until they appeared in the doorway of the lab.

"I will not share you in this fight, my dear," he growled viciously, stalking across the room to the canister filled with the deadly new virus. Skywalker pitched forward slightly, but his Master's arm across his chest kept him from moving closer to the Sith. _Good boy,_ he thought. "I'll not share you with anyone."

Her expression remained unreadable, but her Padawan was not as gifted at hiding his emotions. "Master, what is he talking about?" he whispered.

"Tell your whelp to avert his eyes, my love. Unless you want me to give him a demonstration of how you _really_ got those lovely bruises."

Asajj's already pale face went deathly white. Her eyes stayed locked on his even as Skywalker let out a laugh that was apparently meant to be unimpressed. "You're insane, just like all Sith." The sound of his lightsaber activating cut through the thick silence. "We'll finish him off together, Master."

Obi-Wan's patience for the brat had reached its limit. "Stay down, boy!" A powerful surge of the Force threw Skywalker against the nearest wall. Another twist of the Sith's hand brought the lightsaber to him. Now the boy had nothing but his own strength both physical and in the Force to defend himself. And in Obi-Wan's current state, he wouldn't have stood a chance. "My Empress and I have much to discuss. I have been more than patient, Asajj. I want your answer _now._"

"What?" Skywalker gasped through the Force-hold. "Asajj, what is going on?"

"Oh, she hasn't told you. I figured as much. How could the esteemed General Asajj Ventress, crowning jewel of the Jedi Order, tell her precious Padawan about her clandestine activities with a Lord of the Sith? What shame she must have felt." Obi-Wan kept his gaze fixed on Asajj, noting every tiny movement of her eyes as he spoke, the almost imperceptible downward tilt of her head, the way her breathing was far too controlled to pass off as calm. Darth Apophis moved in for the final strike. "Tell him, my love. Perhaps all you need to join me is not the destruction of the Jedi, but the disgust and hatred of your beloved student."

"Master?!"

She seemed not to hear his cry. All of her focus remained on the man she should have feared and hated above all others. "Is this your revenge on me, Obi-Wan?" Her voice was painfully soft, but her eyes were hard. "Please-"

"'Please' what? 'Please don't bring the truth to light'? 'Please don't embarrass me in front of the child'? Don't you dare ask me for that, Asajj. Not when I've begged you to see reason, to understand that your rightful place is at my side. So I'm going to do what I should have done long ago: _force you to answer me!_"

The stench of ozone and the Dark Side filled the room as a sheet of lightning erupted from his fingertips. Anakin screamed when the electricity hit him. He couldn't move, couldn't focus enough to even try to deflect the attack.

"Obi-Wan, stop!" Asajj shouted.

"Not until I have your answer, my sweet." Compared to her panic for her student, he felt strangely calm. He had the upper hand and he would have her choice one way or another. "Choose me, and I'll spare the whelp. Choose otherwise, and I will kill you both along with the two billion innocent souls on this planet."

Anakin tried calling for his Master through his pain but all he could manage were strangled gasps and gutwrenching cries. "Obi-Wan, please stop! Anakin has nothing to do with this. This is between you and me, not him!"

"Then I suggest you answer quickly…and correctly."

"Let him go and I'll give you my answer and reveal everything." She took a hesitant step towards him, one hand slightly raised as if pleading for peace. "Anakin and the Jedi will never forgive me. That would be a bonus, right? Either way, you'd finally see me out of the Order. Please let him go."

Obi-Wan paused. He considered her offer for a moment, then released Skywalker, who collapsed to his knees and fought to regain his breath. "Master," he said after a beat. "What in _space_ is going on? What are you two talking about?"

"Tell him, my dear," Obi-Wan urged with a sweep of his arm. "Or do you need further motivation?"

Asajj stared at him. How could she have ever let things go so far? How could she have let herself stray so selfishly from the tenets of the Order? And not with just anyone, but a Sith Lord? Was this some great cosmic joke? What trick had the Force played on her to make her believe that he could ever see her point of view?

She took a deep breath, not daring to look back at her Padawan when she spoke. "Anakin, all those times I didn't answer my comm, or when I left the Temple or our FOB without explanation? I was meeting Obi-" She caught herself. "Darth Apophis. Several months ago, our relationship…changed. He awakened something in me I'd never felt before, something I tried to control but couldn't. Every bruise, every scratch he left on me…I loved them. It was selfish, but I…I wanted more." Tears fell from her eyes to streak down her face. Obi-Wan hated to see them. "I thought…I'd hoped that if our relationship grew, I could help bring him back from the Darkness. I wanted to save him. I see now that that was a fool's hope. He would no sooner turn from the Dark Side than I would from the Light."

Skywalker had now regained his footing. He stood as still as stone, gazing at his Master's back as if in some kind of nightmare. "Y-You're lying. You're a Jedi. You would never get involved with anyone, especially not an enemy. Why are you lying, Master? To make _him_ happy? He's a monster!"

Asajj lowered her head. "Yes, he is." The words were so soft the almost went unheard. But Anakin heard them.

"Then why?! Why in kriffing space are you telling me this? You would never turn your back on the Order like this!"

Asajj turned abruptly to face her student, tears still falling. "Don't you dare judge me, Anakin," she snapped vehemently. "Especially when you've been keeping secrets yourself." For the first time since her confession began Obi-Wan turned his attention to Skywalker, who paled at the accusation. What was this? "I know about Padme. I've known for a long time. I never said anything because I knew you loved her and you never let it compromise your responsibility to the Order. Anyone who knows you knows that you and her are the worst kept secret on Coruscant _and_ Naboo."

So the brat had had a girlfriend for years, a grievous affront to the Jedi Code, and he had the gall to think himself above his Master? The hypocrisy made Obi-Wan want to spit. How many other Jedi engaged in secret relationships and still spouted their rhetoric about non-attachment?

Asajj wasn't quite done despite the sudden silence of her Padawan. "You were able to maintain both lives separately, Anakin. My life has always been devoted to the Order. Even now I would die for it. I have never indulged myself in anything out of fear of compromising my oath. But one event changed my life." She turned back to Obi-Wan. The look in her pale eyes rooted him to the spot. "And as you once said yourself, Anakin: one cannot help whom they love." Obi-Wan inhaled sharply and grasped her waist when she stepped towards him. Did he dare to hope? "And of course, with my good fortune, I found myself in love with a Dark Lord of the Sith."

Both men froze when she pressed her lips to his. The kiss was tender and loving, almost shy. Obi-Wan let out a shaky breath when she pulled away much too soon. Skywalker had a less composed reaction.

"Master!" he screamed, horrified. "Please tell me it's a lie!"

"It's no lie, Anakin," she replied softly. "I do love you, Obi-Wan. I realize that now." She paused when his palms cupped her cheeks, excitement swirling around him. She closed her eyes so as not to see the hope shining in his. "But I cannot join you." He went still. "My life will always belong to the Jedi and the Republic, but you will always have my heart."

Anakin was speechless, his eyes darting around the floor as if he could find some way to convince himself that everything he had just seen and heard was nothing but a bad dream. Asajj struggled to maintain her composure; _everything_ had changed in an instant. Her future was now clouded with uncertainty and heartbreak. Obi-Wan still had not moved.

Many long moments passed before he lifted one of her hands to his lips to press a kiss into her knuckles. He took a deep breath, then another. He lifted his head and opened his eyes. _Yellow eyes._ "Leave."

"Obi-Wan, please-"

He flung her from him before she could finish the sentence. Now it was his turn to avoid looking at her. "You've made your choice, _Jedi._" His mask of calm and control was quickly slipping. "Take your pet and leave before I regain my senses and slaughter you both."

She chanced a step towards him. "Obi-Wan-"

A sudden wave of power sent her crashing back into Anakin. "I'll not tell you again. Leave. NOW!"

Asajj pulled Anakin, who wrenched his arm away as quickly as possible, to his feet. He sprinted from the room first. She hesitated. "I'm sorry, my love."

Silence fell. It seemed as if the Force and the universe themselves also went quiet. The virus forgotten in the wake of his heartbreak and rage, Darth Apophis loosed a scream of pain so powerful the laboratory crumbled around him. When his throat had gone raw and his spirit drained, he was left on his knees sobbing in the ruins.

* * *

**Btw, FOB stands for forward operating base, a military term used to describe operations bases. They're usually temporary depending on the mission at hand, but they can be used for extended periods of time as well.**


	3. Chapter 3

Weeks passed. Darth Apophis found himself carrying out his Master's orders with less and less enthusiasm. No longer did he take as much pleasure in thwarting the Jedi that sought to end the reign of the Sith. Now he sat in his hidden base on Geonosis, brooding. Several times he'd had to force his mind to go blank in order to stamp out the pain that _she_ had caused. To keep himself from reaching into the Force to feel for _her_ signature to comfort him. To keep himself from throwing away a lifetime of planning and going to Coruscant in search of _her_; he wouldn't even know what to do once he got there.

So deep in his sulking was he that he never saw the security monitor blink once, twice, then cut to black. He did notice, however, when the other five went out and the sound of the door opening caught his ear. He swung around, crimson blade drawn.

"Your trail was almost insultingly simple to follow, my darling," she said with a radiant smile.

He lowered his blade but didn't deactivate it. "Get out," he snapped venomously. "Take another step and I will kill you like I should have done long ago."

She walked closer. "Before I distracted you with my feminine charms, yes?"

He didn't laugh. "I am deadly serious, Jedi."

Asajj nodded, her attempt at playfulness disappearing as quickly as ice in the Tatooine sun. "Hear me out first, Obi-Wan."

His fingers tightened on the hilt of his lightsaber as she approached. "This is the last time I will warn you-"

"I've left the Order."

Time seemed to slow as he processed her words. Surely he hadn't heard her correctly. "What?"

"You heard me. I've resigned my service as a Jedi."

Red plasma disappeared with a _snap_. He stared at her as if he were looking at a ghost. "What kind of trick is this? Have you not done enough damage already, Asajj?"

"It's no trick, my dear." Her voice cracked. "I-I'm no longer welcome in the Temple. There's been a...development."

Forgetting his lightsaber, he cupped her face in his hands and stroked her cheekbones with his thumbs. Tears filled her eyes but she was refusing to let them fall. Despite his hatred of the Jedi as a whole, he hated seeing her cry even more. "What are you talking about? Have they harmed you?"

She curled her fingers around one of his hands and drew it down to her abdomen. His brow furrowed. "I'm pregnant," she whispered shakily in his ear. His eyes went wide in shock. He stared at her for a moment, then at her belly beneath his palm. How could he have missed the slight roundness that had developed since he had last seen her? "It broke my heart, but I had to leave. I wouldn't have been able to hide it forever. And the questions would come, of course. I...I couldn't risk our child. I don't know what the Council would have done with it, if they'd have even let it live, but-"

His lips covered hers to silence her choked words. Unlike the majority of their other kisses, this one was the most loving, affectionate, and heated they'd ever shared. Asajj melted in his arms, tangling her fingers in his hair and pressing herself as close as she could to him. He took care to not crush her in his embrace despite how desperately he wanted to keep her there.

"Stay with me," he breathed when he pulled away for air. "I can protect you here from even Lord Sidious himself. I will kill him before our child is born. I'll not have it enter this life with him in command."

"My love-"

"All will be as it should by then: Sidious dead, this war over, and the galaxy under our control." And then he would have everything and give it all to her. His life, a crown, immortality. Everything she deserved.

"Obi-Wan, no. Listen to me. You don't have to do any of that. Neither of us has to. Come away with me instead. We can go somewhere where there are no Sith, no Jedi, nothing but us and our child. And our love."

He shook his head. Why did she still refuse to see reason? "My sweet, it must be this way. If I leave, we will be hunted. I will not endanger your life...lives like that. Once I kill Sidious, everything will be better. You'll both be safe."

Asajj let out a frustrated breath and opened her mouth to argue. But another voice cut through the air before she could get a single word out.

"So, this is how you spend your time when you disappear, Kenobi." _Grievous._ The cyborg stomped through the door with great metallic _clang_s. "I knew you've been distracted lately by a certain Jedi scum, but not like this. Now your betrayal will cost you and your pet your lives!"

Six lightsabers ignited simultaneously. Obi-Wan tried putting himself between the general and Asajj, but she wouldn't have it. She attacked as often as she defended, meeting Grievous's ill-gotten weapons time after time with preternatural grace and skill. She moved like water where Obi-Wan was fire, all strength and flash and distraction. It only took moments before Sith and (former) Jedi found their balance. Their coordination would have beautiful to an outside observer, like a dance instead of a battle. Asajj let Grievous's strikes come, deflecting them easily and turning their force against him. Obi-Wan stopped each one aimed at him with sheer power, preferring instead to be like a stone wall that Grievous would crash upon again and again until he destroyed himself.

The lovers fell upon Grievous together, their combined Force strength crushing him into the floor until the pistons and joints in his knees groaned in protest. They had him!

Until Grievous found a last reserve of strength and surged upward to throw them both aside.

Obi-Wan's head hit the floor first, dazing him momentarily. Asajj, ever the graceful warrior, landed on her hands, then flipped herself to her feet. She rushed at Grievous for a death blow.

The scream of rage and agony that tore from Obi-Wan's throat as four beams of light plunged through his lover's body was almost enough to cause a groundquake; nearby Geonosians outside the base instinctively took cover as small rocks shook loose from their places int the cliffsides.

Once-blue eyes bled into sickly yellow and fiery red. Dark veins spidered across fair skin and under a russet beard. The Sith attacked Grievous with a ferocity that surprised both of them...for a moment.

Even with four lightsabers at his disposal Grievous did not have the training Kenobi had, nor the Force on his side, nor the intense, soul-consuming wrath the human did. One mechanical hand went flying from his equally inorganic arm, still gripping the lightsaber. A second quickly followed it, then a third. For the first time in recent memory, Grievous felt fear. He tried to kick his once-cohort away, but the man simply raised a hand and the cyborg's claw was reduced to scrap.

Off balance, Grievous fell to one knee. His momentary surprise cost him half of his remaining arm and his last defense against the enraged Sith Lord. He would have begged for his life if he could have managed to speak after Kenobi crushed his vocal cords with his twice-damned Force. The human stared down at him for a beat, then raised his hand again. Grievous felt his ceramaplast chest plate spread open. The soft tissue beneath was now perfectly exposed to the open air. Kenobi glanced at the pulsating flesh as if it were some vile insect.

Then he drove his lightsaber into it. He didn't stop there. A twist and a sharp upward pull ended Grievous's miserable life for good.

Obi-Wan's mind seemed stuck in a haze as he stood over the smoking husk of a body. When it began to clear, he remembered. "ASAJJ!"

He ran to where she lay on the floor. Her body, always thin and light, felt like nothing in his arms as he drew her into his lap. One hand hovered over the cauterized wounds before moving down to her abdomen. He felt for her unborn child through the Force but found nothing. Her belly had been home to new life, but now it lay silent and dark. "Asajj, please," he whispered against her cheek. "Please open your eyes, my love. Open those enchanting eyes for me one more time."

He begged her to wake up for what felt like hours. As the truth sank in his words turned to unintelligible sobs. He kissed her lips fiercely; they were still warm for the moment. He was furious. At her for coming to him at all. At himself for not leaving when she'd asked, for not doing more to protect her from Grievous.

A presence behind him made him go rigid. He gripped his dead lover to him possessively to shelter her from the approaching evil. "I should have forewarned you of the dangers of falling in love with a Jedi, my apprentice," Sidious said with a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "Their poison can corrupt almost anyone if they are clever enough. She sought to turn your mind against yourself...and she succeeded."

"Do not speak of her!" Obi-Wan hissed, snatching his shoulder away. "She loved me. She left the Jedi for me...for us."

"Did she? The Jedi are not above manipulation. It is one of their most oft used tricks. Are you so certain she would not have ensnared you and taken you back to her blasphemous Temple in chains? Are you so certain she ever loved you?"

Obi-Wan turned and lashed out with a sheet of lightning. Sidious calmly deflected it. "Asajj loved me! She was mine!"

"And now she is gone. Now you may return your focus to your duties instead of the dreams of a lovesick fool." He paused before purposefully softening his voice. "To show that I am not completely unsympathetic to your loss, I will allow you to do with the corpse what you will. Bury it, burn it, launch it into a sun, I care not. But be done with it quickly." He spared a glance at the grotesque remains of Grievous. "Since now I find myself one general short, you will assume all of his duties in addition to your own. Compose yourself swiftly, Darth Apophis. We still have much work to do."


	4. Epilogue

**_Two years later_**

"Things are still going well, my love. The last of the Mid Rim planets is now ours, along with the final holdouts of the Trade Federation. All we need now to guarantee the integration of the remainder of the galaxy is Naboo and Alderaan, then Coruscant itself will fall along with the rest of the Core. None of those planets do anything without the others following suit." A tiny smile lifted the corners of his mouth. "But of course, you already know that."

Obi-Wan raised a hand to the transparisteel that protected his love's body from the elements. Despite the unnatural pallor of her skin and the softly glowing blue light around her frame, she looked as if she could have simply been sleeping. His fingers curved down the cryotube's viewing pane as if caressing her cheek. "You'll be happy to know that Anakin has completed his first solo mission. I'm really very happy that he and I managed to reconcile our differences. You know, your passing devastated him almost as much as it did me. But he's taken to my teachings exceptionally well. Rather than linger over his grief, he channels his pain into power."

_"YOU KILLED HER!" Anakin shouted. Tears stained his face even as his lightsaber swung wildly at Obi-Wan. "I _felt _her die! I'll kill you for that!" _

_"You may have _felt_ her death, Skywalker," Obi-Wan replied with deadly calm, "but I had to _watch _her die. Don't you dare presume the agony I've endured since she was taken from me!" _

_Red plasma met blue again and again, sparks flying, ozone burning. One wielder fought with blind rage and grief. The other, with controlled precision fueled by sorrow, heartbreak, and an idea. The boy was lost in the Dark Side of the Force, but it did him no favors. It was in control of him, not the other way around. Obi-Wan had lived and breathed and slept in its Darkness for over a decade. He knew how to use it to his advantage unlike Skywalker. _

_It was that prowess with the rawness of the Force that soon had the boy on his knees. Hot tears of anger and despair and self-loathing fell from his eyes as he awaited the Sith's final strike. But it never came. _

_"I have a proposition for you, Skywalker," Apophis said gently. _

_"Spare me," Skywalker spat tiredly. "Just end it." _

_"Grievous was the one who drove his blades through her body, but he was guided by another hand. That of Darth Sidious." He paused for a moment to collect his emotions; just saying the name of his Master brought a surge of fresh hate from deep in his gut. "When I discovered he had learned of Asajj's visit to me and sent Grievous to dispose of us both, I wanted nothing more than to tear out his black heart with my bare hands." _

_Skywalker looked up. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but in that moment Obi-Wan thought his love's former student looked very young indeed. "So why didn't you?" _

_The Sith lowered his weapon and looked down. "In my grief at the loss of Asajj, I was no longer able to focus well enough to act on my plan. If I had tried, he would have killed me easily, and I would never have avenged my beloved Asajj. But now-" he crouched down to Anakin's level, red blade vanishing with a soft _snap _"-justice will prevail. I can teach you to harness your grief, to lash it to your lightsaber and use it as a weapon. You are strong in the Force, boy. Separately, we have no hope of destroying Sidious. But together, we can give Sidious just enough time to realize the mistake he made when he stole Asajj from us. Anger is powerful in itself, but righteous fury is unstoppable." _

_Anakin looked at him for a long while. He was reciting all the reasons he shouldn't, all the reasons why his Master, whom he had still loved despite it all, wouldn't approve. She wouldn't want this. She wouldn't want anyone using her memory in such a way. It was profane. It was blasphemous. It went against everything the Jedi stood for. _

_His answer was simple and irrefutable."Done."_

Obi-Wan stopped himself. If he wasn't careful he tended to ramble. Asajj would think him some kind of fool if he kept on. But she would want to hear how well her student was doing now. "He's the reason the Hutts are now dead. Not that that's any great loss to anyone." He let out a chuckle as he thought back to earlier that morning when his apprentice had returned from Nal Hutta with the good news. "He was so happy when he came back. The creatures responsible for his misery as a child and the suffering of millions of others all dead by his own hand. I dare say the mission was almost...therapeutic for the boy. I just wish I could help him with Padme's death. I know what it's like to lose one so cherished..."

"Lord Apophis," a droid interrupted. "Darth Vader reports that a contingent of Rebellion ships is coming out of hyperspace from the Tingel Arm sector."

Obi-Wan didn't look away from Asajj's serene visage, his fingers still stroking the transparent divider. "Good. Then he can have some target practice." How he ached to touch her warm flesh just once more...

"My lord, the weapons systems on Lord Vader's ship have gone offline. He reports that he is currently taking heavy fire. He requests your assistance."

Obi-Wan took a moment to control his annoyance. "So much for growing independence." He waved the droid away as he stood. "Don't worry, my sweet," he said softly; his words were meant only for her. "I know how much the boy means to you. I'll continue looking after him for you." He pressed a kiss to his gloved fingers before touching the pane over her still-beautiful face. "I love you, Asajj. When the time is right, we'll be together again."

The three MagnaGuards standing watch over the cryotube and its precious contents remained stock still as Obi-Wan left his personal sanctuary (and hell) for the hangar bay of the _Invisible Hand_. He'd discipline his apprentice on the importance of _avoiding_ enemy fire later. First he had to rescue him...for the twelfth time.

* * *

**I got a lot of people asking for an update after that last chapter (like, whoa!), so here it is! I felt bad killing Asajj, but my brain wouldn't let the image go, so there ya have it. What did you think? **


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